LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Long queues have resurfaced at immigration offices across Malawi, sparking frustration among passport applicants and raising questions about what is behind the delays.

At key regional offices, particularly in Blantyre, Lilongwe and Mzuzu, people are spending long hours in some cases arriving before dawn just to secure a spot in line. Some have reported returning for several days without being served.

“It’s very frustrating,” said Mphatso Banda, a university student from Blantyre who has been trying to renew her passport for over a week.

“You come as early as 4 a.m. and still find a line stretching beyond the gate. The officers say there is a system issue or no booklets. We deserve better.”

Meanwhile, Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) on Tuesday, June 17, 2025 penned Homeland Security Minister Ezekiel Ching’oma demanding answers on the matter.

“In exercise of our governance watchdog role, and as a mouthpiece of the voiceless, CDEDI, write you Sir, with reference to the above stated subject matter. Hon. Minister, recently, you were quoted in the local media touting the procurement of a new passport supplier, thereby raising hopes that the unwarranted passport crisis would come to an end.

“However, CDEDI would like to put it you Hon. Minister, that for the past two weeks, the Immigration Department has not been issuing passports to the
citizenry, contrary to their legal mandate”, reads CDEDI letter in part signed by its Executive Director Sylvester Namiwa.

Namiwa adds, “CDEDI would like to benefit from the Access to Information (ATI) Act, which will in turn help passport seekers, in particular, and Malawians in general, to exercise their right to know the developments that are happening at the department.

CDEDI therefore, requests Ching’oma explanation to justify the current crisis in passport issuance, tell the nation when exactly issuance of passports will resume, explain to the nation how the current supplier was identified.

“Needless to remind you sir, that you are serving in a public office that isordinarily expected to be held accountable to the general public”, Namiwa reminds Ching’oma.

In the past two years, the Department had launched an online application portal to ease congestion, but many users complain the platform is unreliable, often crashing mid-process or failing to issue confirmations.

Meanwhile, immigration authorities say they are working round the clock to clear the backlog and restore normalcy.

As the queues persist, citizens are left with no option but to endure the long wait a test of patience for those chasing travel deadlines and economic opportunities beyond the country’s borders.